It’s little wonder that eastern red cedar has been called “public enemy No. 1.”

In Oklahoma, alone, the invasive species has already taken over some 8 million acres of land, converting the ecosystem from grasslands and native diverse prairie where cattle graze to a red cedar woodland.

“The red cedar woodland has a lot lower biodiversity, a lot lower wildlife value and a lot less aesthetic value,” says Rodney Will, a professor in the department of natural resource ecology and management at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.

Much like something out of a science-fiction movie about an alien invasion, the bushy and scraggly native red cedar trees are reportedly taking over nearly 800 acres of land a day in Oklahoma. They are costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars a year — due to decreased grazing, increased water consumption, reduced recreation opportunity and increased wildfires — as well as the untold costs to landowners attempting to remove the trees and stem their incursion.

“Right now to clear it, it costs a rancher, farmer or landowner at minimum several hundred dollars an acre . . .” Will says, noting that clearing the trees generally entails cutting them down, stacking them and then conducting prescribed burns. “But once

it [red cedar] reaches a certain size, it’s almost a threshold, and you can’t get rid of it without very expensive mechanical treatment. The cost of that is prohibitive.”

A similar situation with the trees is occurring throughout the Southern Great Plains, he says.

A two-year study by Will and other researchers at Oklahoma State offers what they say is a viable use for the pesky trees: mulch.

“Given concerns about the future availability of woody residuals and harvesting trees of intact, functioning ecosystems for use as mulch, sources such as eastern red cedar . . . may provide alternatives to traditional cypress, hardwood, and pine mulch,” according to the study by Will, Adam Maggard, Thomas Hennessey, Craig McKinley and Janet Cole.

“In regard to plant growth and soil variables, red cedar has ranked among the best of all of the mulch types we are studying,” says Maggard, who wrote his graduate thesis on the study and is currently working toward his doctorate at Oklahoma State.

“Basically, the bottom line is, if you like the way it looks, you should use it,” he says.

The study, begun in 2009, was designed to compare red cedar mulch to seven commonly used

Study Shows: Invasive Red Cedar Makes a Good Mulch Product

BY P.J. HELLER

NEWS Serving Soil, Mulch, Compost, & Biofuel Professionals

Vol. VI No. 4 July-August 2012

Continued on page 3

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wood mulches, including cypress, pine bark nuggets, pine, hardwood and grand eucalyptus. The study also included two non-mulched controls, one with chemical weed control and the other without.

The study was funded by the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology.

Each mulch was applied 3 inches deep to plots measuring 1.5 meters in diameter. In the first year of the study, plots were both in shade, open sun and open sun with tilled soil. The second year of the study was conducted in full sun. Plants in the plots included annuals, perennials and trees, all of which would commonly be found in landscape applications.

“We wanted to mimic what you would see around landscaping,” Maggard explains.

Will, Maggard and others say red cedar mulch has traditionally gotten a bad rap, with unsubstantiated claims about it harming plants and “sucking” moisture from the soil.

“There are a lot of misconceptions out there about eastern red cedar,” Will says. “One of the things we heard was that it had chemicals that would kill horticultural plants and trees . . . In my mind it didn’t make sense. We set out to try to demonstrate that eastern red cedar mulch was as good, or hopefully better, than some other common wood-based mulches.”

“We basically found no adverse effects of using red cedar mulch,” Maggard says. “It’s safe to use.”

That’s especially good news for companies such as Eastern Red Cedar Mulch based in Stillwater. The company, which has been producing red cedar mulch for almost eight years, hopes the study will spur more usage of the product.

“It’s just a matter of getting the word out,” says Aaron Newton, who runs the Oklahoma operation with his wife. “It seems that the market is growing. More and more people seem to be using cedar than when we first started.”

The company sells and ships bulk mulch throughout Oklahoma and to surrounding states.

“One reason we expanded to go out of state is because there’s only so much cedar mulch you can sell in-state,” Newton says. “There’s so much red cedar available, but there’s only so much you can do with it as far as mulch goes.”

Newton estimates he produces 400 tractor-

trailer loads annually.His father, Richard Newton, runs the Eastern

Red Cedar Products lumber mill in Marengo, Ind. The mill makes products from eastern red cedar logs ranging from hippogriff nests in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios theme park in Florida to fencing material.

How much sway the Oklahoma State study will have with the public remains to be seen.

Like Aaron Newton, Will hopes the public will embrace the use of red cedar mulch.

“My take on it is, living where I live and seeing what I see every day, we should be using eastern red cedar mulch more than the other products,” Will says.

Not only is eastern red cedar mulch produced from a local product, but its use is “benefiting the larger picture,” he adds.

Other than benefiting the local ecosystem, the researchers report there was little difference among the mulches in the study.

“All mulch is good,” Will says in summing up the findings.

“All the mulches seemed to perform on the same standard compared to each other,” Maggard agrees. “We found no significant differences among the different mulch types.

“The biggest difference we found was using mulch versus not using mulch,” he adds. “Basically what that says is that mulch matters, but the type of mulch you use does not necessarily matter. There are some benefits and some drawbacks to different mulch types, such as appearance or decomposition rates. They all perform about the same. There are slight differences and attributes, but nothing to say one stands out dramatically more from another.”

Will agrees, noting, “Red cedar mulch was as good as any of the other mulch products tested.”

Among the key benefits of using mulch was its ability to hold soil moisture and to suppress weed growth, he says.

According to the study, “Use of tree-based mulches . . . increased plant growth (annuals and trees) and survival, maintained greater soil moisture, suppressed weed growth, and moderated soil temperature.”

With little difference in pricing, choosing among the various mulches on the market comes

Study Shows: Invasive Red Cedar Makes a Good Mulch Product

Soil & Mulch ProducerNEWS

Continued from page 1

Continued on page 6

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4 Soil & Mulch Producer News July / August 2012

I n an effort to conserve water, cities along Colorado’s Front Range have implemented programs to encourage — or in some cases to require — property developers to amend soil with compost in order to lessen the need for watering. “We firmly believe that getting landscaping in that’s healthy and has a

chance to retain moisture, sets the homeowner or property owner up for using much less water over time,” notes Melissa Elliott, assistant director of public affairs for Denver Water.

Denver Water, the largest water utility in the state, serves some 1.3 million people in Denver and surrounding suburbs. It requires any new development or redevelopment to amend its soil with compost prior to obtaining a water meter.

“Before Denver Water will set new meters, property owners must amend their soil with compost so the soil more efficiently retains water,” the agency states. “This rule applies to all new residential, commercial, government and industrial properties within Denver Water’s service area.”

Denver Water, which has had water conservation measures in place for decades and is credited with coining the term “xeriscape”, implemented the composting requirement following several years of drought in the early 2000s.

“Coming out of that drought, our board really wanted us to step up our water conservation efforts and our program throughout our service area,” Elliott says.

A six-month pilot program involving some of the largest builders in the area was launched in 2008. The goal of the pilot program, Elliott says, was to create a rule that wouldn’t be detrimental to developers and which would benefit customers long-term.

“We wanted to reach out and talk to all of the stakeholders and make sure that particularly housing developers and home builders and landscapers and architects really understood why we were doing this,” she explains.

By 2009, the composting program was up and running. Today, Denver Water does some 1,000 inspections a year to ensure developers and landscapers are complying with the requirement of applying 4 cubic yards of compost for every 1,000 square feet of yard, according to Brandi Honeycutt, water conservation office technician.

In 2011, the agency reported that some 16.5 million gallons of water were saved through soil amendment efforts, based on the square footage amended, along with other factors. In the first four months of 2012, it reports that 5 million gallons of water have been saved.

Those savings come none too soon, with the semi-arid Front Range — the most populous region of the state which stretches from Fort Collins in the north to Pueblo in the south, with those cities located just east of the foothills of the Front Range — again facing drought conditions.

A Stage 1 drought was declared in April by Denver Water, with customers urged to voluntarily cut back outdoor water usage. Annual mandatory summer water restrictions — which ban outdoor watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. from May 1 to Sept. 30 and limiting watering to only three days a week — were already in place.

“We have a long history of conservation,” Elliott says. “Part of that is our history of promoting xeriscape and educating our customers, and amending the soil is part of wise landscaping practices that we promote. The [2002] drought really made us realize how vulnerable we might be to those types of climatic changes. In fact, we’re in another very similar drought this year. But what’s been great is that our customers have conserved so much water — and we did have a wet year last year — that the effect on our customers has not been as severe as it was in 2002.”

Coming out of that previous drought, Denver Water officials realized they could not just rely on educating customers about water conservation, but had to enact operating rules when new development occurred.

“That was the real vision coming out of that drought and the impetus for getting the program started,” Elliott says.

Composting could play an important role in other areas, with the worst drought in more than a half century spreading this summer over much of the United States. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, as of early July, 61 percent of the contiguous U.S. experienced drought conditions. That marked the largest percentage of the nation experiencing drought conditions in the 12-year record of the U.S. Drought Monitor. Authorities have already declared more than 1,300 counties in 31 states as natural disaster areas, typically those that have experienced severe drought for eight consecutive weeks.

Amending soil with compost is just one of the water conservation efforts by Denver Water, whose goal is to cut water consumption by 22 percent by 2016. A “massive” education campaign called “use only what you need” is part of water conservation efforts, along with such things as rebates, incentives and irrigation audits.

“We’re well on out way to doing that,” says Elliott of meeting the 22 percent savings goal.

So far, customers have achieved a 20 percent reduction in water usage, she reports.

“This [composting] program is part of that effort,” she says. Justin Ball, general manager of GVR Landscape, sums up the water

situation along the Front Range by noting, “We don’t have a whole lot of water out here right now. We have to do whatever we can to try to save it.”

Ball says landscapers embraced composting even before its use was required by Denver Water for new development or redevelopment. Much of the soil in the area is clay and sand.

“It [compost] provides the plant material a better chance of success,” Ball says. “Basically, we’re trying to grow grass and shrubs in a desert here. It’s really not conducive to the things we plant, so you have to do everything you can to try to make it thrive. Between irrigation and good soil prep you get pretty good results.”

Elliott adds that even without Denver Water’s soil amendment rule, “99 percent of developers and landscapers would do it anyway because it’s kind of an industry standard and the benefits are perceived.”

COMPOST One Solution to

Rocky Mountain Dry BY P.J. HELLER

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Soil & Mulch ProducerNEWS

Continued on next page

5July / August 2012 Soil & Mulch Producer News

Denver Water provides a list on its website of composts approved for use as soil amendments.

The Denver area is not alone in its composting and water conservation efforts. Other Colorado municipalities, from Greeley to Castle Rock, also encourage or require soil to be amended with compost.

In Greeley, for example, any new seed or sod being installed at any residential or commercial site must be prepared with compost in order to water outside of the city’s watering restrictions. Residents also are encouraged to avoid installing new lawns during summer months.

The city, located in northern Colorado, receives even less than the 15 inches of precipitation that falls on the Denver area each year. It has had watering restrictions in place since 1907, which according to city officials, have changed little over more than a century.

Currently, no watering is allowed from Jan. 1 to April 14. From April 15 to Dec. 31, residents may water three days a week — those days dependent on whether they have even or odd numbered addresses — but no watering is allowed between noon and 5 p.m. There is no time limit on watering.

New lawn watering variances are granted if the seed or sod is amended with compost. The city requires 4 cubic yards of compost to be used for every 1,000 square feet of turf.

“Any new seed or sod has to be prepared with compost,” notes Ruth Quade, water conservation coordinator for the city’s water and sewer department. “They have to bring us original receipts for the seed or sod and the compost, which have to match up square-feet-wise.”

Residents also must provide proof that the compost was rototilled into the existing soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches, she adds.

“Homeowners are always putting down new lawns, especially right now,” Quade says. “The economy is starting to pick up and people are buying foreclosed homes.”

Because some of those homes were abandoned, the lawns were untended, prompting new purchasers to tear up the yards and put down new grass, she notes.

“I get a little push-back . . . because people say there was a lawn in here already,” she says. “But our soils — mostly clay with pockets of sand and silt — are lacking in organic matter and it’s gone out of the soil in six months to a year.”

The city advises residents that “when soil is properly prepared with organic matter before planting, the landscape needs less water. Properly prepared soil retains water and diminishes runoff from the lawn onto paved surfaces.”

Quade says no figures are available on how much water has been saved with the city’s composting rule, which went into effect about 10 years ago during the last major drought. She does, however, cite industry statistics showing that compost use can save 30 percent of water.

Overall, the city’s water conservation efforts between 1990 and 2007 have reduced water demand by more than 20 percent. The city hopes to reduce demand by another 8 percent by 2027.

Much like Denver Water, the Greeley compost program is just one part of an overall water conservation plan that includes rebates, audits and educational outreach efforts.

“Compost is one part of our overall program,” Quade stresses. “We try to develop programs that are going to hit different sectors and resonate with different sectors. Some people will respond to the water restrictions which we’ve had in place since 1907. Some people will respond to a free audit, some respond to the rebates. We have a huge educational program for children and adults. You just have to try it all and get to as many people as you can.”

That effort may be succeeding, as Greeley was named one of 12 water-wise cities by the 2012 National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation. The competition recognized cities where residents made a free, online commitment to reduce their water use. Overall, residents from more than 1,000 U.S. cities pledged to reduce their water use by nearly 6 billion gallons.

In Castle Rock, located about 28 miles south of Denver, all nonresidential, residential and multifamily developments must have their landscape designs approved by the town before registered landscape professionals begin installation.

“Water-wise design is required for new residential development, including proper soil preparation and irrigation design,” the town says.

At a minimum, the city requires 3 cubic yards of organic matter —

compost, wood humus from soft/non-toxic trees, sphagnum moss (excluding that of Colorado origin), or aged/treated manures — per 1,000 square feet of landscape area and tilled to a minimum depth of 4 inches.

In Boulder, located about 25 miles northwest of Denver, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department utilizes compost for all its landscape projects. The compost is created from local organic waste and is also available to all homeowners in the city.

Cities along Colorado’s Front Range aren’t the only ones striving to save water. Nationally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has specifications

for new homes under its WaterSense program. “WaterSense labeled new homes are designed

to reduce residential water use indoors and out — allowing you and your family to enjoy all the comforts of home while using less water and energy, and spending less money on utility bills,” the EPA says. “In fact, compared to a typical home, a WaterSense labeled new home can save a family of four 50,000 gallons of water a year or more. That’s enough to wash 2,000 loads of laundry and could amount to utility bill savings of up to $600 each year.”

The requirements include a provision that all exposed soil shall be covered with a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulching material. That material is described as “a permeable arrangement of organic and/or inorganic material that will help retain soil moisture, suppress weeds, and allow free movement of oxygen into and out of the soil.”

Among locations where WaterSense homes have been constructed are Colorado Springs, Roseville, Calif., Chapel Hill, N.C., and in Issaquah, Wash., which in 2012 became the first community of homes in the nation in which every residence earned the WaterSense label.

Landscaping of the Issaquah homes features plants that provide habitat for birds and wildlife. The drought-tolerant plants, which do not require watering once they are established, “are enhanced by using nutrient-rich compost that helps hold water, improve soil quality, and reduce runoff,” according to the EPA.

“Before Denver Water will set new meters,

property owners must amend their soil with

compost so the soil more efficiently retains water.”

Soil & Mulch ProducerNEWS

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6 Soil & Mulch Producer News July / August 2012

Study Shows: Invasive Red Cedar Makes a Good Mulch ProductContinued from page 3

down to what a landscaper or purchaser prefers and which mulch will look best, Maggard says.

For Will, one of the most important results of the study was to show that “you can take advantage of something that’s harming the environment to create a product that’s of value to landowners and others to preserve the biodiversity and integrity of the landscape.”

Aaron Newton says he has witnessed those changes first-hand. “We go out and mainly reclaim pastures,” he explains. “We go out and

clear pastures and within a year the pasture and the natural prairie grasses start to come back up without any reseeding.”

One large job, for the National Park Service in Sulphur, Okla., involved clearing 60 acres of eastern red cedar. Now if you go back there the grass is knee to waist high. It’s back to the way it used to be.”

In addition to improving the environment, property owners are saving money when they turn eastern red cedar trees on their land into mulch, Newton says.

Before Eastern Red Cedar Mulch was founded, property owners had to pay to have the trees cut, stacked and burned.

Property owners now only have to pay to have the trees cut (a service Newton will provide although he notes the main focus of his business is grinding). Once cut down, Newton will come onto the property and grind the trees without cost.

“We grind the entire tree so there’s nothing left out in the field,” he says. Will says the idea of using the eastern red cedar trees as mulch offers

numerous advantages. “Based on what we’re finding in terms of all of the effects on plant growth,

I think folks should really consider using red cedar mulch,” he says. “In one small way it helps to restore a degraded ecosystem.”

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7July / August 2012 Soil & Mulch Producer News

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Endowment Helps Launch First-Ever Canada/U.S. Forest Summit

The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) served as convener for the first-ever Canada/U.S. Forest Health Summit. The event, held at the Embassy of Canada in Washington, DC, on June

29th, was co-hosted by the USDA Forest Service and the Canadian Forest Service of Natural Resources Canada.

“The borders that separate the United States and Canada don’t segregate threats to our natural resources,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The countries share common environmental concerns. It is critical that we continue to collaborate and address current and future land management challenges as partners.”

The overall goal of the summit was to explore and develop a cooperative vision and plan for actions to address forest health challenges. While the two countries and their respective agencies have a long history of working together, until now collaborations have typically occurred among individual researchers working on specific topics.

“This summit is an important first step toward the creation of a Canada-U.S. forest science agenda,” said the Honorable Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources Canada. “By identifying issues on which we can work together, we aim to maximize the value of the critical work that scientists and researchers are doing on both sides of the border to ensure the health of our forests and forest sector.”

In his opening challenge to the two-dozen agency and forest sector leaders participating in the summit, Endowment President Carlton Owen noted, “It is only at your respective levels of leadership when considering all of the information, all of the challenges, and all of the opportunities, that we can come to the conclusion that we can’t afford to wait any longer to look for ways to build on a strong foundation for even grander achievements. Clearly, the need is there.”

9July / August 2012 Soil & Mulch Producer News

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Reviews by Environmental Defense Fund Shed Light on Wood-to-Energy Issue

During the past five years one of the fastest growing sectors of the U.S. wood-to-energy market has involved wood pellet facilities with products targeted for the European Union (E.U.). Two new reports issued recently by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the Pinchot

Institute for Conservation are designed to shed light on the complex nature of this segment of the renewable energy market.

The reports examine economic, environmental and policy implications of the expanding wood pellet market. European Power from U.S. Forests documents how E.U. policy is shaping the transatlantic trade in wood biomass. Pathways to Sustainability evaluates the programs and practices available to pellet producers to meet European buyers’ sustainability expectations and requirements.

“The E.U. has a strong renewable energy policy, but countries don’t have enough forest or agricultural land to meet the increasing demand for wood biomass,” said Will McDow, EDF forestry conservation manager. “The U.S. has the biomass resources and sustainable forest management programs. The two must be linked. Landowners and biomass producers on both sides of the Atlantic can encourage market development and meet environmental objectives.”

Creating Biofuels From Forested Lands Now Seen as Problematic

Jena, Germany—Creating energy from forest biomass is a growing industry, but now scientists are beginning to say that such

large-scale bioenergy production will actually increase greenhouse gas emissions. A study in Global Change Biology/Bioenergypostis put forth by scientists at the Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Oregon State University, and universities in Switzerland, Austria and France, and supported by several agencies in Europe and the U.S. Department of Energy, found that a major increase in forest biomass production will lead to younger forests, depleted soil nutrients, increased erosion, loss of biodiversity and function, and higher costs for bioenergy, as well as increased use of fertilizers, which are also a source of greenhouse gas emissions.

The article raises important issues for bioenergy policies. The report studied an industry that would be based on large-scale use of biofuels in forestlands and determined the following concerns:

Bioenergy is not carbon-neutral, in that 1. the reduction of biomass and lost carbon sequestration by forests could take centuries to be paid back by fossil fuel substitution; The economic viability of biofuels might 2. require government mandates or subsidies, as higher demand for biomass would raise prices for the biomass, such as recent events in Germany;Bioenergy production from forests could lead 3. to faulty management practices and increased dependence on wood imports, as well as possible negative impacts on vegetation, soil fertility, water and ecosystem diversity;While the Industrial Revolution decreased 4. use of forests for fuel and let degraded forests recover in Europe and the U.S., the industrial-scale use of forests for biomass would probably have the opposite effect. It would be better, says the research, to produce biofuels on previously forested land while at the same time not harming food and animal forage production.“Society should fully quantify direct and

indirect greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy alternatives, and associated consequences, prior to making policy commitments that have long-term effects on global forests,” the authors wrote in their conclusion. Read more at ncfp.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/biomass-energy-not-sustainable-or-carbon-neutral.pdf.

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12 Soil & Mulch Producer News July / August 2012

Soil & Mulch Producer NEWSU.S. Woodland Soils Could Help Fuel Greenhouse Gas Emission as Temperatures Rise

Irvine, CA—A study by UC Irvine and others in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has determined that the rising global temperatures attributed to climate change could release large stores of

carbon in domestic forest soils. Heating soil in forests in Wisconsin and north of Wisconsin, by 10 and 20 degrees, increased their release of carbon dioxide by up to as many as eight times, showing for the first time that carbon in topsoil is affected by warming.

“We found that decades-old carbon in surface soils is released to the atmosphere faster when temperatures become warmer,” said lead author Francesca Hopkins, a doctoral researcher in UCI’s Earth system science department. “This suggests that soils could accelerate global warming through a vicious cycle in which human-made warming releases carbon from soils to the atmosphere, which, in turn, would warm the planet more.”

The United Nations notes that soil stores more than double the amount of carbon as the atmosphere, and the study shows that older soil carbon is affected by warming as is newer soil. The forests of the Northeast have till now been seen as useful carbon sinks, holding nearly 26 billion tons of carbon, but now scientists believe trees and soils could become sources of emissions.

“Our results suggest that large stores of carbon that built up over the last century as forests recovered will erode with rising temperatures,” said Susan Trumbore of the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry. They serve as uncontrollable carbon dioxide sources.

Funding for the study was provided by the National Science Foundation, the ARCS Foundation, and a Ralph J. & Carol M. Cicerone Graduate Fellowship, with additional support from the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Forest Service, Michigan Technological University and the Canadian Forest Service. For more, visit http://today.uci.edu/news/2012/06/nr_soil_120611.php.

2012 MSC Annual Meeting

The Sheraton Hotel165 Courtland St. Atlanta, GA

For Details Visit:www.mulchandsoilcouncil.org

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13July / August 2012 Soil & Mulch Producer News

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14 Soil & Mulch Producer News July / August 2012

Soil & Mulch Producer NEWS

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Washington State Study Shows More Reason for Concern about Climate Change Effects on Carbon Storage in Soil

Portland, OR—The U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station and the Climate Impacts Group at the University of

Washington have published a study in the July issue of Ecological Applications that shows that by 2040, parts of Washington State could lose as much as a third of the carbon stores due to increasing wildfire. It is the first study to use statistical models and Forest Inventory and Analysis data to investigate the effects of a warming climate on carbon storage on Washington’s woodlands.

“When considering the use of forests to store carbon, it will be critical to consider the increasing risk of wildfire,” said Crystal Raymond, a research biologist based at the station’s Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory and lead author of the study.

In a look at how climate changes affects wildfire and how this in turn will affect the ability of Washington’s forests to act as carbon repositories, the study explored published forest-inventory data, fire-history data, and statistical models of area burned to determine the carbon carrying capacity of the Western Cascades, the Eastern Cascades, and the Okanogan. By looking at living and nonliving biomass, which respectively remove carbon from the atmosphere and then release it over time as the material decomposes, the study found the woodlands of the Western Cascades to be the most sensitive to climate-driven increases in fire, while projecting a decrease in live biomass of from 17% to 26%, in the Eastern Cascades and in the Okanogan Highlands, by 2040.

For more information, go to www.fs.fed.us/pnw/news/2012/07/warming-climate.shtml.

BACKHUS Now Part of Eggersmann Group

Eggersmann Anlagenbau, a company that specializes in waste-treatment plants, with head offices in Bad Oeynhausen,

Germany, has taken over operations of BACKHUS GmbH, Edewecht. The new entity, Eggersmann Anlagenbau BACKHUS GmbH, is overseen by CEOs Karlgünter Eggersmann and Thomas Hein, and by Friedrich Backhus, who will stay on as a consultant.

In taking over the commercial operations of BACKHUS composting systems, the “BACKHUS” brand will be kept. “BACKHUS” will remain the name under which the BACKHUS 16.30 and the BACKHUS Lane Turner will be marketed. The operations of the two partners, Eggersmann Anlagenbau and BACKHUS, will continue largely unchanged. The familiar contact persons will remain to provide support to clients as before.

Multiple Sector Study Finds Heat-Loving Fungi can be Key to Industrial Development

Montreal, Quebec—A study in Nature Biotechnology by a multi-sector research team of scientists from academia, government and industry may lend support the development of biomass-based fuels and other industrial materials. It shows how heat-loving fungi, Myceliophthora thermophila

and Thielavia terrestris, found in composts that self-ignite, can hasten the breakdown of fibrous materials from plants at temperatures ranging from 40 to 70 degrees Celsius. This is considered too extreme for many enzymes that form components of industrial processes used to degrade biomass into a range of chemicals and products, but these fungi love such conditions. .

Fewer than 40 of such heat-loving fungi have been identified, and they hold great promise in the production of many chemicals and biomass-based fuels, according to the study’s senior author, Adrian Tsang, a biology professor at Concordia University and director of its Centre for Structural and Functional Genomics. The scientists’ next goal is to determine how these organisms flourish at high temperatures and what makes them so efficient in breaking down plant materials.

The discovery will support the goal of finding better ways to transform green waste into renewable chemicals and fuels and be used to replace environmentally harmful chemicals in the manufacture of plant-based commodities such as pulp and paper.

This study was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Cellulosic Biofuel Network of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Genome Canada and Génome Québec. For more information, go to www.concordia.ca/now/what-we-do/research/20111003/from-compost-to-sustainable-fuels.php.

15July / August 2012 Soil & Mulch Producer News

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16 Soil & Mulch Producer News July / August 2012

Soil & Mulch Producer NEWSAustin Biomass Plant Increases Homeowner Energy Costs Due to Lack of Carbon Capping Law

Austin, TX—Statesman.com reports that a private and unpopular biomass power plant owned by Nacogdoches Power LLC and fueled by wood waste recently went on line for the city-owned Austin Energy,

generating $2 billion worth of electricity for the next 20 years. The facility has 100 mW of generating capacity to power some 66,000 homes on a 24/7/365 basis, unlike solar and wind.

Local activists opposed the plan from the start, believing it was unrealistic, expensive and too non-transparent and hurried, and without community support. The cost would be 9 cents per kWh at the beginning and jump to 16 cents per kWh, far higher than the cost of natural gas and wind and almost certainly higher than a proposed nuclear plant expansion would have been. When the deal was made in 2008, fracked natural gas was new and cost around 14 cents per kWh; it is now 2 cents per kWh. Austin Energy now gets 291 mW of coastal wind, also new when the deal was struck, for just over 4 cents per kWh. Austin Energy will not have to pay if the plant runs short of fuel, gained from sawmill, yard and logging waste, with no clear cutting permitted.

Austin Energy thought carbon-capping legislation would increase the cost of non-renewable energy by 3 cents per kWh, a cost not applicable to biomass. It is expected that Congress will pass carbon legislation in the foreseeable future, supporting the biomass decision.

The plant is unpopular because the company estimates that it will add $1.94 to an average monthly bill of around $100, supported in part by as yet unrealized federal taxes that would increase the cost of carbon-based fuels. The plant would enable Austin Energy to obtain 25% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2013, an important initiative that it has undertaken, with a goal of 35% by 2020.

For agenda and registration details, please visit www.compost.org or call1-877-571-4769(GROW)

National Compost ConferenceSeptember 19-21, 2012 Montréal, QC

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17July / August 2012 Soil & Mulch Producer News

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18 Soil & Mulch Producer News July / August 2012

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19July / August 2012 Soil & Mulch Producer News

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A Drop in Demand for Woody Biomass in the US Reduced Biomass Prices in the South, Northeast and the West during the 2Q/12Prices for mill and forest biomass fell in most major consuming regions of the US in the 2Q/12, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review. The main reason for the declining prices is the continued fall of natural gas prices to levels not seen in ten years.

Seattle, WA—Prices for woody biomass in the US, whether sawmill by-products, forest residues or urban wood waste, have been sliding for most of the past three years, but were still higher late in 2011 in most regions than they were five years ago, according to the North American Wood

Fiber Review.In the 2Q/12, woody biomass prices were down between 2-10 percent in the key biomass-consuming

regions, the US South, Northeast and in the West as compared to the 1Q/12. In the US Northwest and California there continues to be a substantial price discrepancy between mill biomass and forest biomass, but this price difference is minimal in the US South.

During 2011, natural gas prices fell about 45 percent in the US and the lower prices have reduced the urgency for investing in woody biomass projects in the country. However, despite the plunging natural gas prices, plans for more facilities utilizing woody biomass continued during 2011 and 2012 in both Canada and the US, with some projects nearing completion and others in start-up mode.

Wood fiber demand for all planned biomass projects in the US dropped in the first half of 2012 as compared to early 2011. Most of the decrease in wood usage the past year has been that wood used in the generation of electricity for the domestic market in the US, while the pellet industry has continuously expanded capacity to serve the growing demand in Europe.

The US had about 450 announced and operating woody bioenergy projects in the spring of 2012, including wood pellets, liquid fuel, electricity-generation and combined heat and power (CHP). The projected wood fiber use for all planned biomass projects is estimated to reach just over 30 million dry tons of fiber annually by 2020, according to Forisk.

Commercial and residential energy consumers’ interest in switching to more expensive green energy is likely to continue to be lukewarm as long as demand for energy is low and natural gas prices are their lowest levels in over ten years.

San Joaquin Valley Builds State-of-Art Sewage Sludge Recycler

Los Angeles—Fresnobee.com reports that Southern California is sending up to 500,000 tons a year of its sewage sludge into San

Joaquin Valley’s new mega-composting project, where the Sanitation District of Los Angeles County has purchased 14,500 acres of farmland, where it will be mixed with debris from area farming and used as a soil nutrient to help grow cotton, wheat, nuts, fruits and other crops. The bio-solids will arrive late next summer.

The $120 million project has survived many appeals and a lawsuit over air quality and resulted in a state-of-the-art project, including a biosolids-mixing building where the oxygen is filtered for odors and air pollutants, including $9 million on fabric to trap ozone-making gases on huge composting piles.

The multi-phase project will process 100,000 tons of bio-solids yearly in the first phase and can expand to take 500,000 tons of bio-solids and 400,000 tons of green waste a year, resulting in 300,000 tons of compost. It will be one of several recycling options in the area.

Environmentalists and activists groups are watching the operation, despite the fact that the composting process is a proven one and the finished product is safe to use.

20 Soil & Mulch Producer News July / August 2012

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Premier Tech Acquires vonGAL Corporation

Premier Tech recently announced the acquisition of the vonGAL Corporation, located in Montgomery, Alabama. According

to Premier Tech, vonGAL delivers high-performance conventional palletizer equipment to diversified industries, including baking, bottling, brewing, paint, pet food, and publishing.

With this acquisition, Premier Tech’s Industrial Equipment Group (IEG) integrates some 80 additional skilled team members to its existing team of 500 people. This transaction also strengthens IEG’s position in the field of rigid packaging. Already involved at many levels with end-of-line applications for robotic picking, packing and palletizing and load securing (stretch wrapping and hooding), this move adds another leg to IEG’s commercial offering to the marketplace. This second manufacturing facility in the U.S. adds to the existing four plants IEG has in North America.

“This acquisition is in line with Premier Tech’s five-year strategic planning which aims at increasing its market penetration in its various segments and territories, while increasing its capabilities in terms of project scope and support to its customer base,” said Jean Bélanger, President and Chief Operating Officer of Premier Tech.

Veolia Sends Waste Management Arm to Highstar

Paris, France—Veolia Environnement is selling its U.S. waste management arm to infrastructure fund Highstar Capital for $1.9

billion, as the French company works to cut its debt and concentrate on the sale of its transport business, reports reuters.com. New-York based Highstar had set up its financing for Veolia’s U.S. waste business, Veolia ES Solid Waste Inc. It manages more than $5.6 billion through its infrastructure funds and owns waste management businesses in the eastern half of the U.S. It is in acquisition mode and has finished 30 competitor acquisitions since 2005. Veolia ES Solid Waste is based in Milwaukee, WI, and is one of the largest solid waste companies on the continent, having 72 collection facilities and 29 landfill facilities there.

Veolia has also sold the majority stake in its UK water business for around the same amount, with both sales going higher than expected. This particular deal means that 60% of the firm’s disposal program is now accomplished, and the company says the sale of the waste and water assets is going more smoothly than the transport part of the business. Indeed, a possible next move is the sale of Veolia’s 25% share of Berlinwasser, which provides water for the German capital and is 50.1 percent state-owned.

Veolia expected to complete the sale to Highstar by the end of 2012, subject to approval from U.S. competition regulators.

Herbicide Contamination Seen at Composting Facility in Vermont

Manchester, Vermont—In response to contamination of its products with trace amounts of the persistent herbicides Clopyralid and Picloram, Green Mountain Compost (GMC) has recalled bagged material and stopped selling any compost or compost-based products, reports vtdigger.

org. However, it continues to make compost as Chittenden County says it must keep yard waste out of county landfills, a dictate that will soon apply to food waste as well.

The Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD), a “steward of public funds,” is a not a for-profit, independent entity. It has sent technicians, trained by the Plant Diagnostic Clinic at UVM, to 400 customers of GMC. In the three weeks since the herbicide contamination was found, CSWD has also sent in three groups of samples to be analyzed.

Results confirmed that the heaviest contamination was in horse manure and bedding, one of the four main feedstocks. The others are yard waste, food scraps and wood chips. Clopyralid turned up in all five horse manure/bedding samples and Picloram, which has not been legally used in the state in three years, in four of five of the samples. The feedstocks have higher levels than the finished compost products. CSWD will no longer take horse manure/bedding.

Two garden vegetable samples showed no contamination, so it is expected that some problems thought to be caused by the herbicides are due to other causes. Damage is seen in specific broad leaf garden plants.

It is still unknown whether the herbicide damage is or is not widespread and exactly how serious the damage is. The commissioners focused on what kind of help to provide to customers who have been affected.

Some commissioners believe that trace contamination is likely everywhere on farms, and no one knows why the plants are showing damage now when the contamination seems to have been present for a while.

21July / August 2012 Soil & Mulch Producer News

Soil & Mulch ProducerNEWS

The Amadas Soils & Bark Bagger is the bagger of choice for serious bark, soil andcompost bagging operations.

Amadas Industries established the standard in the bark and soils industry and now with over 30 years and millions of bags of experience, we are setting a new benchmark with innovative, modern design technology coupled with improved reliability and increased production capacity.

So, whether you’re just starting out and want a bagging system to establish the foundation of your growing business,or if you already operate a number of high productionplants and are thinking ofupgrading or automating with Form Fill and Seal equipment, let us put our experience to workfor you!

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Info Request #142

Oregon Group Fighting Attempt to Use Farmland for Composting

Oregon City, OR—Oregonlive.com reports that Clackamas County is considering an appeal by the Redland Community

Action Group against a 139-acre composting-only operation planned by owner Casey Stroupe for farmland in Redland, Oregon that was approved by the county in May. The group says the composting operation would introduce industrial-scale composting on high-value soils by claiming status as a farm and worry that bringing in materials collected throughout the metro area might introduce diseases and pollution.

The same group in late 2010 fought a biomass and composting facility planned for the site by Clackamas Compost Products, which is owned by Stroupe, who wants to build the composting-only operation on Redlands land owned by his parents. Stroupe wants to use 3,250 tons of finished compost on the site, which the approval agency noted was very high for this operation, saying that state composting guidelines find that 1,160 tons of off-site composting material would be adequate for the land.

State rules allow composting on farms, a new county policy, but farmers can only use finished compost on their farms and may not sell it. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality approval would also be needed before a composting operation could start at the site.

Clackamas Compost Products is part of S&H Logging, which is also owned by the Stroupe family and which received approval from the country to compost and mine at its main site in Stafford, Oregon. The Stroupes grow hay and Christmas trees on the site. The action group sees this new Stroupe venture as the start of a major composting operation, though the plan now is for a much smaller agricultural operation.

Bandit Industries Announces New Dealers in Oklahoma, Southern California

Bandit Industries recently announced the addition of two new dealers to the company’s North American dealer network. These new locations will provide sales and service for Bandit hand-fed chippers and stump grinders, while also serving most chipper owners by stocking Zenith knives

for a variety of machines. Bandit Tree Care Products of Southern California is based in Foothill Ranch, California. This new

dealership is located between Los Angeles and San Diego, serving customers in both metro areas as well as the entire Southern California region.

Bandit has also signed-on Miner’s Equipment and Truck Repair, which is located in Oklahoma City, to serve customers throughout Oklahoma. According to Bandit, Miner’s Equipment and Truck Repair staff is experienced in equipment maintenance and repair, servicing a wide range of machinery. The new dealer will also sell new Bandit chippers and stump grinders, as well as Zenith knives.

FINN Dealer Network Expands International Presence

Finn Corporation recently announced the additions of the Canadian company Eastern Turf Equipment and the Australian-based

Clark Equipment Group as full service dealers for its HydroSeeders®, Bark Blowers, Straw Blowers, and MTS equipment.

Eastern Turf Equipment has served the Atlantic Provinces of Canada for 25 years. These provinces include Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.

Clark Equipment Group, headquartered in New South Wales, Australia, has been supplying and supporting construction, agricultural, and materials handling equipment for over 60 years. Clark will be representing Finn throughout Australia and New Zealand.

22 Soil & Mulch Producer News July / August 2012

Pro

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Pro

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s McCloskey Introduces TF80 for Enhanced Organic Materials Stockpiling

A new tracked feeder from McCloskey

I n t e r n a t i o n a l i s e n h a n c i n g the p rocess o f s t o c k p i l i n g o f materials that traditionally can cause blockages in conventional stackers. The TF80 will facilitate the handling and stockpiling of large wood waste, bark, compost and top soil, all of which can be directly fed into the hopper with large loaders and excavators.

Powered by a 100Hp (75KW) Kubota engine, the TF80 offers Track or Wheel Mobility and features hydraulic folding for easy transport, resulting in fast on-site setup time – as little as five minutes.

In addition to the large feed hopper (up to 23.0 cubic yards or 17.3 m3, the TF80 features a 1200mm (48”) wide heavy duty 80’ long conveyer and a 1200mm (48”) wide heavy duty feeder. In combination, the TF80 is a robust mobile stockpiling conveyer for use across a number of industries and a highly efficient and productive solution for a variety of applications.

for more information contact McCloskey international at 877-876-6635 or sales@mccloskeyinternational.com

or visit www.mccloskeyinternational.com.

New Automatic Bag Size Changeover for Premier Tech FFS Baggers

Pr e m i e r Te c h Chronos has deve loped a

new feature for its FFS Series Form-Fill-Seal Bagger - the Automatic Bag Size Changeover. Features include:

PLC-controlled po• sitioning of the main modules with electrical actuators and motors with embedded encodersAccurate and repeatable adjustments, independent of • the operatorUp to 80 different bag recipes can be programmed• Adjustable-size filling chute• Much quicker changeover for minimum downtime and • increased productivity - Manual: 30 min / Automatic: 10 min

The FFS Series Form, fill and seal baggers from Premier Tech are intended to package a wide range of loose fill materials such as soils, compost, mulch, bark, etc. in bags ranging from 4.5 to 100 quarts (5 to 110 liters). It is a proven technology providing constant production rates of up to 35 bags per minute. Premier Tech Chronos offers a wide range of bag options: top patch handle, bottom patch handle, bottom patch, die-cut handle, etc.

for more information on our ffS bagging machines and the new Automatic Bag Size Changeovers option,

visit www.ptchronos.com or call 866-274-1287.

The “Complete” Mulch Processing Systems from WSM

West Salem Machinery recently introduced The Complete Mulch Processing System – an integrated stationary, electric processing system that reduces

operating and l a b o r c o s t s by eliminating diesel powered e q u i p m e n t and reducing m a t e r i a l handl ing and the associated manpower.

Des igned for capacities from 100-500 cubic years per hour, WSM’s Complete Mulch Processing System features bulk feeders for less material handling, pre-screening and cleaning for reduced grinder wear and increased through-put, grinding for a premium quality mulch, finish screening for precise product classification, and material handling in one fully integrated package - including all engineering and project management to insure a smooth start-up.

To learn more about the turn-key “Complete” system from wSM call us at 800-722-3530. See us at www.

westsalem.com or email us at info@westsalem.com.

Warren & Baerg Introduces the Model G278-30-400 Horizontal Grinder with Feed Roller Assembly

The Model G278-30-400 Gr inder with Feed Roller

Assembly is the largest and the latest generation of Warren & Baerg’s high production, virtually dust-free round-bale grinders. While the G278-30-400 Grinder model is designed specifically for round bales, it also handles square and mid-size bales.

With their new Feed Roller Assembly system, it makes it possible to effectively process round bales in excess of 20 tons per hour. The Feed Roller Assembly eliminates material slugs, which can cause amp-draw spikes, thereby increasing production output through better utilization of power.

The Warren & Baerg Grinding Systems consists of a bale feed conveyor with a hood, feed roller assembly, grinder, screens, and either an air discharge chute or takeaway conveyor system. The Bale Feed Systems can also be semi-automatic to fit application needs. The grinder is electrically powered with two 200 horsepower motors, along with lower horsepower motors on the conveyors.

for more information contact warren & Baerg at 559-591-6790 or info@warrenbaerg.com or visit

our website at www.warrenbaerg.com.

23July / August 2012 Soil & Mulch Producer News

The WILDCAT LOGO is a trademark of Wildcat Mfg. Co, Inc. VERMEER is a trademark of Vermeer Manufacturing Company in the United States and/or other countries.

© 2012 Vermeer Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

WE’RE WILDLY CONSISTENT.

Wildcat trommel screens and compost turners can help you produce a consistent end product.For nearly 40 years, Wildcat Manufacturing has been helping operators exceed their wildest expectations. Our products are powerful, productive, and backed by an industry-leading dealer network committed to your satisfaction.

From trommel screens to compost turners, we design and build equipment you can count on day after day. It’s easy to operate, easy to service, and the easy choice when you need high performance and consistent end product.

Call your nearest dealer or visit www.vermeer.com today!

Info Request #141

InsIde ThIs IssueStudy Shows: Invasive Red Cedar

Makes a Good Mulch ProductPAGE 1

Compost One Solution to Rocky Mountain DryPAGE 4

Endowment Helps Launch First-Ever Canada/U.S. Forest Summit

PAGE 8

U.S. Woodland Soils Could Help Fuel Greenhouse Gas Emission as Temperatures Rise

PAGE 12

Multiple Sector Study Finds Heat-Loving Fungi can be Key to Industrial Development

PAGE 14

Herbicide Contamination Seen at Composting Facility in Vermont

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PRSRT STDU.S. Postage

PAIDMentor, OH

PerMIt No. 2

6075 Hopkins Road • Mentor, OH 44060

Ph: 440-257-6453 • Fax: 440-257-6459Email: downassoc2@oh.rr.com

VoL. VI No. 4 JuL / Aug 2012

420 Industrial Parkway, Ossian, IN 46777 I Phone: 260-622-7200 I Toll Free: 866-298-1876 I Fax: 260-622-7220 I www.rethceif.com I info@rethceif.com

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Info Request #154